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Submit Your Close Call / Near Miss Navigation Home Close Calls Secret List Gallery EMS CloseCalls Drills Firefighter Staffing Personal Survival Safety and survival SOGs Links Modern Fire Behavior About Us Never Forget Fire Communications Pass it On LODD STATS Yearly Totals Year Totals 2015 10 2014 87 2013 101 2012 83 2011 81 2010 87 2009 93 2008 118 2007 118 2006 107 "In Memory Of" Click this patch   Custom Search  Contact Info  Email BillyG info@ firefighterclosecalls.com  Email Weekly Drill Suggestions to Drills@firefighter closecalls.com Click Here for The 9/11 Widows' and Victims' Families Association Click Here: Skyscraper Safety Campaign       Also check the most current issue of THE SECRET LIST for related News and Updates-(Click Here)  AUSTRALIAN FFs ATTACK BY BEES AT HOUSE FIRE  Friday, February 20, 2015   FIREFIGHTERS have battled a major Aspendale house blaze while coping with bees from an active beehive, asbestos and a fire truck breaking down on the way.The suspicious fire has gutted the inside of the house, on the corner of Station St and Pine Cres, barely leaving behind a charred skeleton of the property. It is the third major fire in Aspendale in less than two weeks. Edithvale CFA and the MFB were called to the house at 6.10pm on Wednesday. When crews arrived, neighbours told them they were concerned a person was trapped inside. Edithvale Captain Graham Fountain said firefighters searched the property with a thermal imaging camera, but found no one. But crews were not in for an easy battle; firefighters had to contend with a lack of water supply, a fire truck breaking down during the fire, asbestos in the building and billowing smoke blanketing the area. If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, bees from an active beehive in... [ more ]         WOMAN WHO STRUCK FF MAY HAVE BEEN DRINKING ON THE JOB  WRCB Video  Friday, February 20, 2015   Police say the woman involved in a hit-and-run with a Chattanooga firefighter had been drinking that night at the bar where she worked.Channel 3 learned Thursday morning that Andrea Payne was a bartender at Fanatics Sports Bar & Grill on East Brainerd Road. Police say Payne had just gotten off work, was over the legal limit, and traveled 0.7 miles east down East Brainerd Road where the collision occurred. The owner of Fanatics told Channel 3 Thursday he "disputes" allegations that his bartender was drinking on the job. Still, the beer board could possibly fine Fanatics or revoke or suspend its license to serve. Attorney Matthew Brownfield represented the bar's owners in front of the beer board Thursday morning. He told the board he was just hired last night and requested more time to meet with his clients before an official hearing. "This a unique situation with the driver of the vehicle who injured the firefighter havin... [ more ]         MO FF SHOT IN FOOT AT FIRE  ABC17 Video  Friday, February 20, 2015    An Osage County firefighter was hospitalized after he was shot in the foot. Related Content Work begins on Mid-Missouri bridge known for safety problems More than 400 deaths a year caused by carbon monoxide... 3 people found dead in house fire in Springfield 2 people found dead in house fire in Springfield Working outside in the bitter cold The accident happened Wednesday in Bonnots Mill when crews were fighting a mobile home fire. The call came in around 7:30 Wednesday morning. Fire officials said heat is what caused a pistol in a drawer to discharge a bullet from a .380 handgun. Linn Fire Chief Ron Hoffman said the fire started as a grease fire and that the trailer is a total loss. It is still standing, but it's not salvageable. There was also heavy heat and smoke damage to the trailer. Sources said the firefighter, 23-year-old Adam Strope, was taken to St. Mary's... [ more ]         FF WHO WAS STRUCK BY LIGHTNING SPEAKS OUT  NBC4: Columbus, Ohio News, Weather, and Sports (WCMH-TV) WCMH Video  Friday, February 20, 2015    He's lifted up out of bed in a nursing home with a harness and hoist and placed into a wheel chair. This is the new normal for Stu Tudor, the Columbus firefighter who was struck by lightning last summer at crew stadium.The whole process takes about 15 minutes. And he's thankful for every minute of it. He survived a lightning strike to his head, and by all accounts he shouldn't even be alive. It caused severe brain damage and he remembers nothing from a month before the strike and nothing else until a few months after it. "No one has ever survived a lightning strike to this magnitude," said his girlfriend Lisa Watford. The strike came in through the top of his head, went through his body and out his left foot. It happened on a Saturday night before a Columbus Crew game where he was presenting an award. Now, nearly eight months later, he is talking publicly for the first time. His speech is s... [ more ]         MN FF SERIOUSLY INJURED BY FALLING STEEL DOOR  CBS MN Video  Friday, February 20, 2015   A Gibbon, Minnesota volunteer firefighter is recovering after sustaining a serious injury during a fire at a welding shop. 40-year-old Ryan Sabo was responding to a fire at the shop in Fairfax early Monday when a steel door fell on him, trapping him until he could be freed by fellow firefighters, KEYC reports. His injuries were severe – according to his GoFundMe profile, his left femur was broken in three places, his pelvis was broken, and he also suffered a bruised kidney and a fractured tailbone. Sabo is an auto mechanic by trade and father of two young children. His family is accepting donations to help pay for his medical expenses – as of 3 p.m. Thursday, it was up to more than $2,500. The femur injuries required surgery and a titanium rod. Sabo’s wife, Nickie Sabo, told WCCO her husband is disappointed the rod “didn’t come with superpowers,” though she considers him a superhero anyway. Despite the seriousness of his wounds, Sabo seems to be bouncing b... [ more ]         FF DOWN IN HOUSTON - CPR IN PROGRESS  Scott Engle Video  Friday, February 20, 2015    According to Houston Fire Department firefighters a house fire was reported at England and Cosey in south Houston Thursday evening. Also reports of people trapped. Crews arrived on scene and after exiting the structure a firefighter collapsed. He was transported to Hermann Hospital with CPR in progress. At this time a press conference will take place at about 915 to get an update.Today marks the tenth anniversary of Houston Fire Captain Grady Burke, when he perished in a house fire. Burke was from the same station as tonights firefighter.         3 FFs HURT AT YONKERS FIRE  Thursday, February 19, 2015   A fire ripped through a multifamily home in Yonkers on Wednesday night, gutting the house and leaving 12 people out in the cold.Firefighters battled a three-alarm blaze at 39 Locust Hill Ave., where flames tore through the second and third floors of the three-story wood-frame house. None of the occupants were hurt but three firefighters were injured, Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Fitzpatrick said. More than 40 firefighters from about a dozen companies responded around 4:30 p.m. They initially tried to get inside the house but the fire was too intense, though they did rescue a cat from the building. The main fire was knocked down around 7 p.m., but not before destroying most of the home. The cause of the fire was under investigation. "Our firefighters had their work cut out for them," Mayor Mike Spano said from the scene.         FFs TAKING PROACTIVE STEPS TO PREVENT CANCER  ABC6 Video  Thursday, February 19, 2015   Proactive steps are beginning to be taken across Ohio to prevent the new killer claiming careers and lives of firefighters. Cancer is haunting firehouse after firehouse, with studies pointing to a link between cancers and the job firefighters do. There was a meeting of the minds Wednesday to discuss methods of prevention and bring about an increased awareness. “When you’re a firefighter you have a mindset that you can do anything, that nothing can stop you,” Firefighter Mark Rine said. “Now, every day you’re basically reminded that that life is gone.” ABC 6/FOX 28 introduced you to Mark Rine last July. He has melanoma cancer and was told he only has a couple more years to live. Rine’s cancer is one of several skin-related cancers that researchers say is linked to firefighting. Rine’s made it his mission to educate firefighters across the state, even setting up a day-long summit to force a change in culture and prevent futur... [ more ]         REPORT: GLENDALE FFs USED EXCESSIVE FORCE  Video | News | Weather | Sports Wed Feb 18 19:09:09 PST 2015 Report says Glendale firefighters used ’excessive force’ on patient Two Glendale firefighters used "excessive force" during an altercation with a mentally ill patient in October. view full article AZFamily.com Video  Thursday, February 19, 2015    Two Glendale firefighters used "excessive force" during an altercation with a mentally ill patient in October, according to the city's internal investigation. A neighbor recorded part of the incident on his phone, and Glendale human resources staff and a Glendale city attorney used the video and witness statements to come up with their ruling. The patient, 30-year-old James Murillo, suffers from schizophrenia, according to his family. He was having seizures after an overdose on medications. Murillo punched one of the firefighters who arrived to take him to... [ more ]         AUBURN, AL FIRE CHIEF PASSES AWAY AFTER ILLNESS  Wednesday, February 18, 2015    A spokesperson for the City of Auburn is confirming that Fire Division Chief Lee Lamar has died following a prolonged illness. Chief Lamar died Wednesday morning. Auburn Mayor Bill Ham issued a statement saying: "I was very sad to hear the news of Fire Chief Lee Lamar's passing. Lee was completely dedicated to the fire safety of the Auburn community and spent his career building one of the finest fire divisions in the State of Alabama. Not only will we miss his expertise and leadership as Chief of the Fire Division, but we will miss his friendship, his deep concern for others, and his generous spirit. We express our deepest condolences to his family, his friends, and all the members of the Fire Division. Lee meant a lot to many people and will be sorely missed."         BANGOR ME FF INJURED IN COLLAPSE AT HIGH SCHOOL FIRE  Wednesday, February 18, 2015    A fire at John Bapst Memorial High School on Broadway has been brought under control, according to Bangor Fire Chief Tom Higgins.Crews from several area departments began hauling hoses out of the structure after fighting the fire for about two hours, Higgins said at 1 p.m. Wednesday. One firefighter was injured when a portion of the ceiling on the third or fourth floor collapsed, Higgins said earlier. The injured man was brought to a local hospital. Higgins did not release the identity of the firefighter or the nature of his injuries. School was not in session Wednesday because of February vacation so no students were in the building. About a dozen employees were working and evacuated the building safely, according to principal David Armistead. Those employees are being allowed back into the building to collect their belongings, Higgins said.